


The Things We Do For Love

by MJLightwood



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BIG spoilers for 3x19 and 3x20 of Arrow, Barry and Oliver are engaged, Barry is basically Thea, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 22:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5350751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MJLightwood/pseuds/MJLightwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry takes Thea's place in the episodes 'Broken Arrow' and 'The Fallen' of Arrow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Things We Do For Love

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for 3x19 and 3x20 of Arrow, there should be no spoilers beyond that. Enjoy!

Barry Allen wanted a normal quiet night with his fiancé, which meant he had to run 600 miles to Starling City. Normal was not really a word in Barry's dictionary these days. He missed Oliver terribly, would do anything to just hold his hand, something that had turned into an unspoken sign of comfort between them, and Barry needed that comfort right now.

After their secret engagement, things had escalated very quickly with Oliver dying. And then Oliver came back, because life decided that Barry Allen could use a bit of good news for once, but that complicated things even more with the League of Assassins.

And in midst of all of their problems, everyone didn't even know they were engaged, or seeing each other. It was between him and Oliver, their secret. And after Oliver was asked to be the next Ra's al Ghul, Oliver decided that it was best to keep the engagement, and their relationship, a secret.

'To keep you safe,' Oliver had reasoned. Barry had learnt not to question Oliver, he knew Oliver loved him, knew that Oliver's love made him an instant target for Ra’s al Ghul. Besides, he didn't exactly know how he was supposed to explain the whole secret engagement thing to Joe and Iris, prolonging it would make it worse but Barry was _not_ ready to face _that_ anytime soon.

'Oliver?' Barry called once he was inside Thea's loft. He fingered the chain around his neck. It was new, Barry was still getting used to it. It kept his engagement ring hidden from everyone under his clothes and was a convenient way to hold onto it, and Barry needed that reminder of Oliver.

His voice echoed off the walls. The loft was empty, unless Thea was sleeping, but judging by how no footsteps were trudging down the stairs, Thea probably wasn't here. Oliver definitely wasn't, it was stupid of him to come here anyway, Barry scolded himself. Oliver would be at his Arrow Cave at this hour.

Barry prepared to leave, but something was wrong. Everything felt wrong, his sixth sense was shouting at him to bolt out of the door.

The door.

It was unlocked.

_Oh shit._

He didn't have time to scan the room before he heard footsteps. Whipping his head in the direction of the noise, he saw _him_. _Run_ , every sense in his body was shouting at him to run, but he found that he couldn't. Maybe it was the shock, or the anger, after all, this man was the root of Oliver's problems lately.

Ra's al Ghul looked amused. 'Do you know who I am, child?' Barry knew he should run, get Oliver, get help. This man had killed his Oliver, and was definitely capable of killing him.

But then again, this was the man that killed Oliver, _his_ Oliver. He had caused Barry so much pain in those few weeks when he thought his fiancé was dead. And no one understood his grief because no one knew Oliver was his fiancé. And God forbid Barry was going to let him go when Ra’s was right in front of him. 'You're Ra's al Ghul,' Barry answered. Then, in a blink of an eye, he made a beeline for the man, pushing him against the wall behind him, all thoughts of his secret identity left his mind.

If Ra's was shaken, he did not show it. 'And soon Oliver Queen shall take my place.' Barry pushed him harder against the wall, not quite sure what he was trying to achieve, except that he was angry, furious at this man for hurting his Oliver.

'He will never take your place,' Barry snarled.

Ra's didn't seem surprised, his face was betrayed no emotion. 'He will need a little convincing,' he said. And then his fingers hooked around Barry's chain and pulled backwards forcefully, with the intention to choke Barry, to catch him off guard. But instead he revealed a simple silver engagement ring with a small emerald embedded the middle that almost caught himself off guard.

Barry was shocked into loosening his grip, his big mistake. Ra's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise and realization at the ring before using his new opportunity to push Barry into a glass coffee table. All Barry heard was the shattering of glass around him before a sword was pierced through his body and then pulled out cleanly. Then came the pain, the unbearable pain.

'I came here looking for Thea Queen. But you, you're something to Oliver Queen too, aren't you?' Ra's said before muttering sentences in a foreign language that Barry did not understand. All he knew was the pain, and how he had to hold on, had to fight this, for Oliver.

'Oliver,' Barry choked out. _Oliver... Oliver, help... I'm sorry, Oliver..._

He tried to stay awake, but then everything went black.

-

Oliver Queen knew something was wrong the moment he and Thea reached the door of the loft. The door was swinging open by just a fraction, Oliver stepped in front of his sister protectively and slowly pushed the door open wider.

He was expecting something else, an attack maybe, not his fiancé bleeding out inside the frame of Thea's shattered glass coffee table.

'Barry! Oh my God! Barry!' Oliver ran to Barry's side. 'Thea call 911!' he shouted, he didn't realize that Thea was already dialing the numbers, he couldn't see anything other than his Barry, clothes soaked in blood.

Barry's eyes were open slightly, but he was shifting in and out of consciousness. 'Barry, stay with me,' Oliver pleaded as he used a towel to apply pressure to Barry's wound. In that moment, he didn't care that Ra's did this to Barry, or how Ra's could have possibly known who Barry was and come after him. He just wanted Barry to be alive, he'd lost too much, he couldn't lose Barry.

'Oliver...' Barry choked out, nearly incomprehensible. His eyelids were fluttering, his hand was weakly twitching. Knowing what Barry was trying to accomplish, Oliver took his hand and held it tight.

'No, Barry, come on, stay awake,' Oliver begged frantically, but to no avail. Barry's eyelids fluttered closed. 'No, Barry, no!' he shouted. He slipped his arms under Barry, ignoring the shattered glass shards as he lifted Barry up. His eyes caught a glint of emerald among the blood and the mess, which only made his heart ache even more.

'Come on, Barry, I need you,' Oliver muttered, choking back tears.

Oliver was by Barry's side all the way to the hospital, until he was forced to leave it so the doctors could do their job. Thea had phoned Digg and Felicity while Oliver stared at his fiancé, stared at the straight line that symbolized Barry's missing heartbeat.

_Please, Barry,_ Oliver thought, _please stay with me._

Then the line began to zig zag. Oliver let out a sigh of relief. Barry was alive, his heartbeat was there, and it was faster than any normal human's. He didn't lose Barry.

Not completely anyway. He was informed by a doctor that Barry wouldn't be the same unless he somehow miraculously made a full recovery. A short phone call with Caitlin confirmed that even with Barry's super-speed healing, he wasn't completely invincible.  

He knew what Ra's wanted, and Oliver was fully prepared to give it to him if it meant Barry would be okay. It was his fault anyway, he'd convinced himself that it was his fault, and he was going to fix it. It was a simple choice in Oliver’s head, his life for Barry's. He'd make the decision in a heartbeat. One of the many things he'd do for love, for Barry.

Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to disagree, even Malcolm warned him that the Lazarus Pit in Nanda Parbat was dangerous and unpredictable, that Barry may not be the same after it.

Everything was way beyond Team Flash's understanding. Apparently Barry didn't really fill them in about Oliver and the League, neither did they know why Barry was in Starling City. Both teams demanded an explanation that Oliver would not provide. Then they dropped it because the grief and guilt was more than evident in Oliver's eyes. But nevertheless, everyone had opinions, and their opinions were clear, as worded by Cisco: No dipping Barry into a magic hot tub.

Joe West was furious. Furious might have actually been an understatement. The man was on the next train to Starling City once he got the news. Oliver understood his fury, but he did not have time, Barry was struggling to survive. After a lot of convincing, Team Arrow accepted that there was no changing his mind. And miraculously, they managed to convince Joe to let Barry be taken Nanda Parbat.

It took another round of convincing for Joe to go back to Central City and not follow them. Oliver managed to convince Joe that Ra's al Ghul didn't need any more targets. Reluctantly, Joe had agreed and given his blessing to Oliver. Oliver tried not to let himself wonder about a future where he'd have to ask Joe for a very different blessing.

But try as he might, he could not stop his thoughts while in Ray's jet. Nightmare after nightmare of losing Barry crowded his thoughts, and he tried to keep them out. He had to believe that Barry was going to be okay, _needed_ Barry to be okay.

When they got off the plane, he cradled Barry's limp body in his arms. His heart was breaking. He knew that he was no good for Barry, knew that as soon as he touched Barry that his darkness would start poisoning Barry's light. But it didn't stop him from pursuing Barry, didn't stop him from letting Barry in, letting Barry love him, letting himself fall in love. And now, here they were, dealing with the consequences.

He didn't want to let Barry out of his sight, hugging Barry's body close to his chest despite the fact that his muscles were aching. He reminded himself that he'd dealt with much worse than aching muscles and carried on. He didn't want anything else to happen to Barry, couldn't have anything else happen to his Barry.

But once again, he was forced to let Barry go, let Barry be prepared for his ceremony. It worked, _a little too well_ , Oliver thought as Barry emerged from the water in a blind rage, like the time he was affected by Bivolo. One second he was unconscious and the next he had knocked Oliver over and had to be restrained and drugged to sleep.

Ra's expression showed the slightest hint of triumph when Oliver looked at him as he held Barry's sleeping but very alive body in his arms. Ra's had won, had kept his word, and now it was Oliver's turn.

However, Oliver’s ascension did not begin immediately. He was given time, very little, very precious time to say goodbye. Time he spent beside Barry's bed. Through it all, he held Barry's hand, because he wasn't sure how many chances he'd have left to do it. If they suspected anything between the two vigilantes, Felicity, Diggle and Malcolm did not ask.

He was there when Barry woke up. He was there to calm Barry down, to reassure him that everything would be okay. Barry was dazed, but he recognized Oliver, reaching out with a weak hand to touch Oliver's face before muttering something that confirmed Felicity, Diggle and Malcolm's suspicions.

'I love you, Oliver.'

Oliver felt his heart breaking. Compared to that one sentence, everything bad that had happened before was a papercut, and this was a big, powerful blow to his heart. Seeing Barry like this, so innocent, so clueless, so peaceful, and despite everything that had happened, his light was still shining in him.

Oliver knew he'd be dimming Barry's light very soon. But for now, he let himself enjoy this, let himself forget about everything that was happening as he rested his head on Barry's chest, letting Barry's fast but steady heartbeat soothe him. Something circular was pressing against Oliver's cheek that instantly made his ring on the chain around his own neck even heavier.

He would give Barry his ring during their goodbye, knowing that he'd never be allowed to keep it in Nanda Parbat. He'd let his heart break even more as tears formed in Barry's bright green eyes, as Barry pleaded with him to stay. He would kiss Barry's forehead, trying to ignore the tears in Barry's eyes.

And Barry would kiss him on the lips one last time, before squeezing Oliver's hand and turning towards the jet. Barry would force himself not to cry, and fail miserably once he boarded the jet.

But before he boarded the jet, Barry would turn and shoot Oliver one last smile despite the tears. Barry would leave Oliver with that image of him, smiling despite all the pain. And Oliver would cling onto that memory whenever he needed a reminder of his old self, a reminder to keep moving forward with his plan.

And throughout his days in Nanda Parbat, he would let himself wish for one thing, couldn't stop himself from thinking about it, from _wanting_ it: The chance to hold Barry's hand one more time.

 


End file.
